Long before DC introduced us to Harley Quinn, a variation of the traditional harlequin character, Agatha Christie created her own Harley Quin, and introduced him to the world in a collection of short stories first published in 1930. This Harley Quinn is a tall mysterious man who appears at prime opportunities in the story, and…
Tag: ballet
Hard Boiled (1992) – John Woo
The Directory, filling out the last section of DK Canada’s marvellous The Movie Book, brings me a 90s action classic. One that set the standard for Honk Kong cinema, and found fans all over the world with its style of balletic violence, beautifully crafted shots, and fantastic set pieces. Not to mention, the exemplary Chow…
The Red Shoes (1948) – Micheal Powell and Emeric Pressburger
The Directory in DK Canada’s The Movie Book continues to introduce me to classic films I haven’t seen, and today they introduced me to the Oscar winning film, The Red Shoes. Taking home awards from the Academy for Art & Set Direction as well as Best Music, the story follows the life and career of…
Billy Elliot (2000) – Stephen Daldry
The final recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book for my viewing of West Side Story isn’t necessarily a musical, but it definitely shares the same love of dance. Billy Elliot, which has since inspired a stage musical perfectly captures joy in dance and simultaneously juxtaposes the ordinary events of day…
Black Swan (2010) – Darren Aronofsky
The next recommendation from my viewing of Gold Diggers of 1933 in the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book, is less musical, but more behind the scenes of a production, and the lead’s gradual descent into madness, in Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. The beauty and sensuality of the ballet, Swan Lake, is…
The Grand Hotel (1932) – Edmund Goulding
It’s time to check in on Greta Garbo again, as we take on another recommendation from the Great Movies – 100 Years of Film book following my screening of Anna Karenina. This one is based on the novel by Vicki Baum, and is filled with melodrama, one for almost every room in the hotel….
Magnum, p.i. (1981) – The Sixth Position and Ghost Writer
Oh Hawaii… This week Thomas (Tom Selleck) deals with ballerinas, and writers… First up is The Sixth Position which originally aired 17 December, 1981, and was written by Babs Greyhosky. Thomas is hired to serve as the bodyguard for a ballerina, Kendall Chase (Andrea Marcovicci), someone T.C. (Roger E. Mosley) is a huge fan…
The Mind Reels 